Next November, it will be five years since Apple TV+ launched as a video streaming platform that wants to compete with Netflix and Disney+. But after half a decade of operation, Apple TV+ at the time still could not reach a high number of viewers. According to a Bloomberg report, the number of Apple TV+ viewers in a month is lower than the number of Netflix viewers in a day.
In the United States, Apple TV+ only holds 0.2% of TV viewing. This is a disappointing number as Apple has spent over $20 billion since Apple TV+ launched. Another somewhat surprising data is that the $250 million show Masters of The Air has lower viewership than Netflix's House of Ninja series. House of Ninja is not a famous series while Masters of The Air received the touch of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who produced the famous series Band of Brothers and The Pacific for HBO.
Due to the low return on investment and the low number of Apple TV+ subscribers, Apple is currently trying to reduce expenses. At the same time there are reports that Apple TV+ may pay for third-party content and not just self-published content.
The Bloomberg report comes days after Netflix reported an increase of 8 million new subscribers that cemented its status as the world's number one paid streaming platform. Disney+ which once provided fierce competition has started to lose momentum with less interesting content offerings lately.